For one reason and another hubby and I have been out of sorts of late, which might go someways to explain the delay in blog posts.  Its been weeks since we have been out and about,  but as Easter was here we decided we really must make the effort.

On Saturday we decided to go to our favourite garden centre to stroll around and admire all of the beautiful plants they have.

We bought a few geraniums to furnish some pots , (although ours are in red, I just forgot to photograph those!)

and we fell in love with these – very architectural.

And then later after the lawn mowing and planting and tidying we had our first barbeque of the season,  a leg of lamb which I butterflied and marinaded with garlic, spring onions, fresh coriander, mint and lemon – it was delicious, served with salad and minted new potatoes,  with plenty left for the rest of the bank holiday.

Sunday arrived and with it the bank holiday rain, so we took ourselves off to the V & A to see a couple of exhibitions I had been meaning to see.  And on the way out we spied an exhibition of butterflies, and promptly joined the queue.

And were met with dancing, fluttering splodges of colour pirouetting around their beautiful garden.

Breathtakingly beautiful.

And very amusing, when one alighted for a rest on my nose.

Hubby was tickled pink by their activities too.

On Monday hubby and I continued with our search for shirting and tana lawns in 100 per cent cotton at reasonable cost.  These two things seem to be mutually exclusive to each other.   I have found Joel & Son Fabrics  online who do gorgeous fabrics but they are a bit pricy for what I had in mind.  Although I have purchased some rather gorgeous shirting in a jacquard weave in a pale blue for less than half price and rest assured they are very thorough at checking fabric before it goes out the door.  They rang me and told me of a slight flaw and offered me another eight pounds off it, I’ve yet to find the flaw and we have looked in good daylight.  Its on my to do list to get to the shop  in person. It is definitely worth a rummage in their students and offers bins.  It came beautiful packaged, interlined with tissue paper with a free tape measure, I always like those little extras, they make you smile.
On Saturday we had looked around Walthamstow Market, the longest Market in the UK apparently.  They have many fabric shops and stalls but none that sold what I was looking for, I’d have been okay for poly cotton though or a thicker weight, more like crafting cotton, just no shirting or tana lawn.
And then on Sunday, after a brief look at the fabric shops around Brick Lane I realised the only place to go was Shaukat. So this was our destination on Monday.   Oh how I love this shop, it is lovely, it is beyond lovely and is perfect for suiting and shirting and tana lawn, just perfect.  I could go there weekly and slowly but surely squirrel all of the lovely things into my stash.  If your tempted by Liberties, you will be seriously tempted by Shaukat.   And so it was we came home with three shirt/blouse worths of fabric via the pub.
The local pub is brilliant, The Duke of Clarence.  It has a lovely eclectic mix of clientele ranging from regular joe’s to much higher on the scale.  Their food is brilliant, its not overpriced but has a very high quality to it.  We have been there several times as my hubby always seems to need much needed refreshment after a trip to Shaukat, I can’t think why?  And this time hubby had a pint of Youngs Bitter and being St Patricks Day a pint of Guiness was top of my list, with half a dozen of the sweetest oysters a piece.

 
They were delicious.  Happy memories being made.

On Sunday we decided that a long overdue trot around Brick Lane was in order.  Primarily to look around fabric shops, but also as I had heard that on a Sunday there is quite a buzz.

We started off midday and quickly abandoned the fabric shops, to submerge ourselves in the vibe that was going on.  It was the best fun – Ever.  The day was warm, note the people walking around in tshirts, shorts and sandals, the colours were bright, the smells magnificent and the textural qualities of the buildings made for an inspirational day.   We wandered at will and found something new with every few steps. 

I loved these peacock feathers.

 

Beautiful old red brick factories had been opened up to form indoor markets three of which were food emporiums.  I think most cultures were covered, there were probably a hundred vendors in various locations selling food to eat on the go,  not including the restaurants and tiny cafes that were also doing a brisk trade. 

Just a few photos of the types of food on offer in this particular building, we never made it in to two of the others.  

I loved the pictorial tiles.  There were pictures at every turn.   

This stork was magnificent.

And this creature, the detail that had gone into it, fantastic. 

We loved the balance in this picture.  To do something this big to look so perfect, well, I don’t have the words, just Wow. 

This empty shop’s window was white washed on the inside and the picture scratched into it.  

And how could we ignore the Greyhounds.    Then we took a gentle walk around to the Columbia Road Flower Market which is only open on a Sunday.  It was four o’clock by this point and we wondered if we were going to be too late.  Although some stall holders were already packing up, the fresh flower people were still going strong. 

So many pretty spring bulbs to choose from.  All being sold off very cheap.  Three bunches for a fiver is what most were selling at.  But I always find the wandering around is the best part of the fun. 

Or as we like to call it, ‘don’t peak too early’. 

Although it was very hard to resist, and I was making mental notes on where to rush back to.  I’ve got another fifty photographs of the flower market, this is just a snap shot, it is huge and it is amazing.  

Every stall was as beautiful as the one before.

And I really could have done with a troop of men to carry my goodies home.  

We settled on three bunches of old fashioned spray roses in a delicate hue for a tenner! 

Do you like my flower seller?

There were some lovely shops,

this a shop selling new items for the kitchen and home,

and this was stuffed to the gills with items for the kitchen/dining room to bring back memories or wish you owned. 

We stopped for a beer Hubby  and I enjoying the evening sun. 

And then took a gentle stroll to the tube, discovering treat upon treat,

I have no idea what this bush is called. 

This forsythia was a most wondrous beauty.   

And then we came to a jaw droppingly beautiful specimen tree.
It was such a beautiful day – in March !!!

Firstly, apologies about the delay in writing to you.  Things have been a tad busy here, more of which in future posts.  I must also apologise for the state of the blog.  Urrrm, well, I got something fundamentally wrong with my hosting company, I thought what was going to be a yearly charge was monthly, and so after I’d realised that I wouldn’t be food shopping until the end of April, I made contact with them and managed to cancel the account, although I did lose twenty dollars which rather annoyed me, half a weeks food at the moment, but you live and learn.  And those blog posts, the text has been copied and slowly I’ll filter them in again and you’ll have to pretend you’ve never seen them and leave me lovely comments, because I didn’t save the comments and I’ll miss that part of it all the most. 

 

Hopefully I’ll get time to sort out this blog a bit as well, but I can’t see it happening anytime soonish, so you’ll have to give me a bit of leeway on that, but the important thing is, I’m back in the room !

I thought I would share some jazzy mother’s days nails with you.

When asked, I tell people they are my Mothers Days nails, colours chosen by my son and quickly gloss over that he is a big hair twenty two year old and this took place whilst chatting over video link, rather than him sat on my knee as an adorable five year old.  It was amusing, he made me change the colours, twice, as I’d got the colours wrong!   I haven’t had too many important meetings since I’ve painted them, although every time I’ve stopped and spoken to someone they’ve immediately commented on how lovely they are, which has tickled me . 

 

Till the next time.